By Fr. Christopher Danel

In this article we begin an examination of the Canon of the Mass, presenting the work of Msgr. Nicholas Gihr in his fundamental liturgical commentary The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass: Dogmatically, Liturgically, and Ascetically Explained. Msgr. Gihr was a priest of Freiburg in Breisgau whose work of liturgical research took place during the time frame spanning the pontificates of Popes Pius IX to Pius XI, including that of Pope Saint Pius X. The early years of his work were contemporaneous with the last years in the work of Dom Prosper Guéranger. (The English translation of his study appeared in 1902; the original is: Gihr, Nikolaus. Messopfer dogmatisch, liturgisch und aszetisch erklärt. Herder: Freiburg im Breisgau, 1877.)

Introduction

With the Canon the holiest and most sacred moments of the Sacrificial Celebration are ushered in: this part of Holy Mass, still more then than the other portions, claims attention, devotion and reverence. Above all, the passion and death of Christ should be devoutly meditated upon. We are exhorted to this by the image of the Crucified, which is placed before the Canon, in order that the painful, bitter and bloody death of Christ may be presented to our view in a striking manner.

Some persons also recognize a certain special and divine touch from the circumstance that the Canon commences with the letter T (from Te Igitur). For the Tau (T) bears a resemblance to the Cross, and, consequently, it meets us already in the prophet as the seal of the elect who are spared the chastisements of God, or as the sign of deliverance, life and salvation, which the predestined bear on their foreheads. “Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem,” thus says the Lord, “and mark Tau upon the foreheads of all men that sigh and mourn for the abominations that are committed in the midst thereof” (Ezech. 9:4, cf. Apoc. 7:3).

The Name, Origin and Antiquity of the Canon

The word Canon in ecclesiastical language has many different meanings; but here, where it serves to designate the principal portion of the Mass liturgy, it signifies the standard formula, the fixed standard, the invariable rule for the accomplishment of the essential act of Sacrifice. The Canon of the Mass, which begins after the Sanctus and ends before the Pater noster, includes the Consecration or Sacrificial Act, as also those prayers and ceremonies that introduce the Consecration and are most closely connected with it. It, therefore, covers the divine sacrificial act with a mystical veil and encloses it in a most precious case. As the Sacrifice which the eternal High Priest offers on the altar to the end of ages, is and ever remains the same, so, in like manner the Canon, the ecclesiastical sacrificial prayer, in its sublime simplicity and venerable majesty, is and ever remains invariably the same; only on the greatest feasts, including Easter and Pentecost, are a few additions made in order to harmonize with the spirit and change of the ecclesiastical year.

As to the origin of the Canon there is an express explanation of the Church: “Since it is befitting that holy things should be administered in a holy manner, since this Sacrifice is the most holy of all things; the Catholic Church, in order that it might be worthily and reverently offered and received, many centuries ago established the sacred Canon, so free from all error, that nothing is contained therein which does not diffuse in the highest degree a certain odor of holiness and piety and raise to God the minds of those who offer it. For it consists partly of the very words of the Lord, and partly of the traditions of the Apostles and also of the pious ordinances of holy Popes” (Council of Trent, Session XXII).

On account of the want of reliable historical testimony, we are not able to state more accurately and minutely what parts of the Canon are of apostolic tradition and what are the later additions of holy Popes. Yet it is correct and a matter of fact to state that Pope St. Gregory I (590-604) completed the formula of the text of the Canon as we now have it and that the text of the Canon of the present Roman Missal corresponds with that form in which it proceeded from his hands and in which it was handed down in the ancient Roman Sacramentary manuscripts.

The Canon is, therefore, through its origin, antiquity and use, venerable and inviolable and sacred. If ever a prayer of the Church came into existence under the special inspiration of the Holy Ghost, it is assuredly the prayer of the Canon. It is pervaded throughout by the spirit of faith, and permeated with the sweet odor of devotion; it is a holy work, full of force and unction. Its simple language, by its pithiness and its antique and Scriptural stamp, produces a touching effect on the mind of him who prays and offers the Sacrifice; it charms the soul, just like the dimly lit ancient, venerable basilicas of the Eternal City. Is it not a pleasure and a joy to the heart that we still utter the very same words at the altar which so many devout and holy priests throughout the entire Church and in all ages have always used in praying and offering the Sacrifice? Already in the times of the Martyrs and in the chapels of the Catacombs these prayers of the Canon of the Mass were recited and sanctified.

The Silent Recitation of the Canon

The manner in which the Canon is to be recited, that is, silently, deserves special notice and explanation. It is a strict ordinance of the Church that the Canon be said silently (secreto), namely, in a voice so subdued that the celebrant may hear himself, but not be heard by those around him. Historical testimonies and reasons drawn from the nature of the thing justify the most general assumption, that it has been a custom from the earliest times to pronounce the words of Consecration, together with the Canon, in silence. Still it is not merely the Church’s scrupulous solicitude with which she preserves the original traditions in performing the Sacred Mysteries, but there are other reasons besides, weighty, indeed, that move her to adhere so earnestly to the precept, that the Canon be said in silence, and that the Eucharistic Sacrifice be enacted in speech wholly secret. We will here cite the chief reasons that demonstrate not the necessity, indeed, but the expediency and appropriateness of the recitation of the Canon in silence.

a) The silent recitation of the Canon betokens the Consecration and Sacrificial Act to be an exclusively priestly function. The prayers of the Canon being liturgical, are, therefore, to be recited not merely mentally, but also vocally (vocaliter), that is, the words must be pronounced with the mouth. But this recitation of the Canon must be made softly, that is, be so constituted as to be inaudible to those who are around, and yet audible to the priest himself. The silent recitation is in contrast to the loud. Now while the loud tone of voice invites those present to join with the priest, and reminds them that the prayers are said in common, the silent recitation appropriately indicates that there is question of a mystery, which it is for the consecrated priest alone to accomplish, and not the people.

Such is the case with respect to the Eucharistic Sacrifice. To consecrate the material elements, to offer the Body and Blood of Christ, is a priestly privilege: the congregation present cannot bring about the accomplishment of the Sacrificial Act. This is symbolically indicated by the silent recitation of the Canon. The priest does not here, as in the other portions of the Mass, commune with the people; he has entered into the Holy of Holies, there to commune with God alone and to pray and sacrifice for the whole Church. “Moses was alone on the top of the mountain; he conversed with God and God answered him.” Thus does the priest stand alone at the altar, when, as the representative and minister of Christ the eternal High Priest, he accomplishes and offers up the Holy Sacrifice for the entire Church.

b) The silent recitation of the Canon text harmonizes very beautifully with the accomplishment and the essence of the mystery of the Eucharistic Sacrifice. The material elements are changed into the Body and Blood of Christ, without the senses perceiving it, or the created mind being able to comprehend it; the real presence and sacrificial life of the Savior under the sacramental species is concealed beyond all discernment. In every Host there are miracles, as numerous as stars in the firmament, yet not the slightest trace of the wonders appears externally. With all this the ecclesiastical rite harmonizes perfectly. The holy silence is quite suited to indicate and to recall the concealment and depth, the incomprehensibility and ineffableness of the wonderful mysteries that are enacted on the altar.

c) Silent prayer is related to religious silence, and, therefore, expresses the humility, reverence, admiration and awe wherewith the Church administers and adores the Mystery of the Altar. “The Lord is in His holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before Him!” The sight of the priest at the altar, communing amid profound stillness with God alone, is, therefore, also an excellent means afforded to arouse and promote in those who are present the proper dispositions, with which they should admire, adore and offer along with the priest so grand and sublime a Sacrifice. Now, precisely this silence that reigns at the altar during the most sacred moments of the Sacrifice and directs attention to the mysteriousness of the sacrificial act forms the loudest summons to enter silently into ourselves, to be recollected in mind and to stir our hearts to devotion.

d) Finally, a mystical reason may be alleged. The priest at the altar is the representative and image of the praying and sacrificing Savior. Now, as on the Mount of Olives and on the Cross, Jesus prayed not only in loud tones, but also in a low voice and in the silence of His heart to His Father, so also it is proper that the priest should even herein resemble His Divine Model when representing and renewing the Sacrifice of the Cross.

The Meaning of the Prayers of the Canon

Prayer forms the liturgical accompaniment of the Sacrifice. The Canon contains those prayers which most closely relate to the Eucharistic Sacrifice. They are oblation prayers, which refer to the Consecration; for they contain in part petitions for the blessing and consecration of the sacrificial elements, in part an offering of the Sacrificial Body and Blood of Christ, and in part supplications to obtain and to apply the fruits of the Sacrifice. As to their contents, they harmonize with the foregoing prayers of the Offertory and we behold in them a copy of the prayers of our Divine Savior. He lived praying and praying He died: praying He redeemed the world.

The longest and the most solemn, the most fervent and touching prayer of the Lord is the one which He uttered when He was about to accomplish His Sacrifice on the Cross; it is the so-called prayer of the High Priest. He makes known therein to whom, for whom and for what purpose He would offer His sacrificial death; He supplicates for His disciples and for all who through their word would believe in Him, that is, for the entire Church Militant. He prayed thus the Father that He would deign to fill all the faithful in time and in eternity with His saving gifts: that He would preserve them here below in unity, keep them in truth and sanctify them by grace, that hereafter they might be transformed in beatitude and behold His glory.

Does not this prayer of the High Priest resound throughout the Canon of the Mass, wherein the Church expresses what gifts of grace she would draw for herself and for all her children from the Holy Sacrifice? How powerful, forcible and effective do these petitions and intercessions of the Church become, as they ascend to the throne of mercy, in union with the voice of the Blood of Christ, steeped in the sacrificial cup of the redeeming Blood, which more loudly and more strongly cries to Heaven than did the blood of Abel!